he came very close to getting yellow. that would make their team work hard this week when they do not need to. his move was very selfish, when you get selfish, that is not smart. look at the 2 breaks he missed already. that first one where they had the cross wind and the pelotn split. lance was there, where was contador?
the race is not won in the first week, but it can be lost.

I think you are forgetting the differences between the current LA/Contador team dynamics and those present for the majority of the time that Merckx and Hinault were riding.

LA is not the de facto team leader...he is a team member. The on road battle between them is therefore one that has repercussion in the team that are possibly unhelpful long term.

LA's only real need is to establish himself as the overall leader without it being a deliberate attack on Contador.. so the previous leap frogging by gonig with the attacking group is a great example.. so would a devastating ITT win.. or if Contador had a really poor day in the mountains..

Contador on the other hand as the team leader has greater freedom... to attack and win as team leader.

Remember the Hinault/ LeMond dynamic.. when Hinault attacked LeMond on L'Alpe...it was his last tour.. he was the undisputed 'King' of the Tour and whilst LeMond was the team leader, Hinault was the Tour leader defacto...a very different dynamic and Hinault had no bones about looknig afte himself.

If LA were to try the same tactic he would not be granted the same 'tolerance' by the peleton...and his team may not be as 'behind' him as they would be if he were in Yellow due to an ITT win or a Contador poor day/ decision.

Same result, but the means of getting there would generate massively different support in the remaining stages.

Right, blocked as in I never have to read his drivel again or see how he makes a fool out of himself on every other post. Always wondered which village lost their idiot and hope we find it someday.

Boy I miss seeing the TOF in person but thats life. At least I do not run into people like frenchy while watching it on the big screen.

Gee,
I feel exactly the same way about you, joeaksa.

Don't worry, you just go and hide behind your ignore function. It suits your style.

Ho...RPKESQ...I take this opportunity to tell you Happy Birthday...hey...It's the 14 of July....Et en passant, je regarde le tour tous les jours, et je dois avouer que vous avez un sapré beau pays....époustouflant....J'espère y donner quelques coups de pédale un jour....!:)

Je suis un américain, mais certains idiots me voient comme un traître pour être en France. Le fait de monter tant les bicyclettes que les motocyclettes est grand ici! Merci pour les vœux d'anniversaire.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1247590510.jpg

Oh mon, un autre idiot apparaît! Ils s'attirent comme cocroaches. :rolleyes:

Je déteste grenouilles. :cool:

Are you seen as being a traitor (which is a harsh assesment, btw) for living in France, or for giving the impression that you hate the US, while living in France? Genuine question, because I haven't really followed the apparent feud between you and Joe.

Je déteste la grenouille ignorante en détestant des idiots. SmileWavy

...and Tim, it seems. Wow guys.

I have been accused of that and other lies. All because I refused to participate in baseless French bashing and other circle jerk opinions. Joey seems to be very confused about the fact that I live in France about half the time and in the US the other half. He can't seem to wrap his head around that.

Over and over in PPOT we see idiot bashing of the French, their planes are bad, they are hateful of Americans, they are not a friend of the US, we saved France twice, the French are out to get Lance............ untruths voiced over and over. These opinions, while common with the ignorant, are not supported by the facts. But that is meaningless to that ilk. I will not support any country without examination, All countries have made mistakes and perpetrated evil. The US (or France) is no exception. The philosophy of "America, love it or leave it" does not make for a better country in any manner (as it never promote introspection, which is the basis for all improvement). When America does wrong , Americans should speak up and demand that it corrects its course. I believe we just did that in the last elections, but some are still smarting from the ass-kicking they brought on themselves.

I enjoy France immensely. It is a delightful place to live and enjoy the benefits of Europe. I have the world's best health-care, mass transportation, food, some of the best museums, great retirement, stable housing market, access to the best modern life can bring along with the traditional, in short a true joie de vie! Somehow that really pisses some right-wing-nut type 'mericans off.

I cannot possibly express to you the extreme pleasure that brings me.SmileWavy

You don't sound like a traitor to me. Personally, my wife and I love France (and all of Europe for that matter). I was born in Europe (Germany) to a German mother and spent a considerable amount of time living in Germany, Italy, and Belgium during my early childhood. I've always considered Europe to be my second home. I've found the French to be very friendly toward my wife and me, for the most part. Occasionally we encounter a rude local who seems to dislike us because we are American, but we chalk that up to the person simply being an unhappy idiot. They exist everywhere.

So, anyway, back to the Tour...

How'd it go today?

You get a point...I lived a year in France (Reims in Champagne) ...The systems there are a big plus compared to America (USA-CAN)...I don't know if you know it...you are a lucky guy my friend. J'aimerais retourner vivre en France un jour...mais femme et enfants pose un veto pour le moment...:)

It looks like he finished in the lead peloton so no time lost. Still currently in 3rd at 8 seconds back.

Good. I'm pulling for him. :)

I think it's great seeing that he's about 12 years past the theroretical prime age....

He is a real phenomenon..and has a GREAT team....!

On the one hand it takes years to gain the experience, power, and stamina to win the hardest bike race in the world. On the other hand, the race is so hard that it favors young men with the ability to suffer and recover. When you balance these factors, you end up with the average age of a Tour de France winner being 29 years old.
http://fittv.discovery.com/convergence/chasinglance/carmichael/carmichael.html

lance is only 37

37 - age of the oldest winner [Firmin Lambot, 1922]
20 - age of the youngest winner [Henri Cornet, 1904]
that would come to 28.5yrs old